


Anti Amber, Pro Pineapple

by Theonewhosawitall



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Buried Alive, Dad Steve McGarrett, F/M, Family, Meeting the kids for the first time, Misunderstandings, Other, Sulking, The school run, healthy eating, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26982763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: Grace is not pleased when she meets Amber for the first time and would much rather let Steve take her to school.
Relationships: Melissa Armstrong | Amber Vitale/Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett & Grace Williams
Comments: 4
Kudos: 105





	Anti Amber, Pro Pineapple

Not like this. Danny hadn't intended to introduce Amber to Grace yet but if he had, it would not be like this. Rachel would have known of course. If Danny wasn’t answering his phone multiple times over night there was only two reasons for that. Either he was in a highly dangerous situation that had landed him in hospital - although Steve would have warned Rachel about this to make sure Grace was reassured - or he was with someone. But when she drove past in the morning to drop Grace off, there was only one car in the driveway. She assumed whatever friend he had found had gone home. 

Grace, young and innocent, was taken by surprise at the strange woman walking around the kitchen in her fathers shirt and nothing else. 

Clearly this was the reason he wasn't answering the phone. 

Her stomach burned with jealous frustration. This woman, this person she had never even heard of, this _Amber_ was yet another thing to keep her father away from her. They had such little time together as it was already. They didn’t need another drain. 

Well if he didn’t have time for her, she wouldn't make time for him.

"Wait there and I'll give you a ride to school okay monkey?" Danny assured her.

She scowled, "No Danno, I'll take the bus."

Danny opened his mouth and gave her an uncertain look. She hadn't been travelling to and from school on her own for very long and he _hated_ that unsupervised time more than anything else. But Rachel - and Steve, and Lou, and Chin and even Kono - insisted that it was something small to give her a sense of responsibility and that he needed to trust her.

He trusted _her_ just fine. It was the rest of the world that worried him.

"You sure? It's much safer if I drop you off on my way to work-" he began.

"I'll be fine," she interrupted firmly.

"It's on my way-" he began.

"My friends get the same bus," she lied.

That seemed to satisfy him enough to back off. That, and the pressing passage of time that needed him out the door. He and Steve had an appointment and Steve wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he was late. 

"Well, if you're sure... I have to go now though so, be safe okay? I love you."

He bent down to press a kiss into her hairline but she stepped back to stop him.

"Okay," she said.

Danny frowned. "Okay?"

It wasn't like Grace to rebuff him like that. Even when she was embarrassed by him she let him kiss her goodbye. She had known from a young age that it could very well be the last time she'd see him every time he stepped out of the door for work. 

Today though, she didn't care.

Danny hummed uncertainly. He hurried over to Amber to kiss her cheek in farewell, but he pause. He glanced at Grace as she sulked, and lowered his voice.

"Do me a favour, please, okay, will you make sure she makes it to school please?" He asked.

Amber nodded and swallowed down the cereal she had made for herself. "What school?"

Danny felt a jolt of reluctance jab his stomach. He didn't like telling people where Grace went to school. Especially since the kidnapping incident. It was safer if they couldn't find her.

"Just... just make sure she gets to the bus stop okay, yeah?" He said.

"Sure thing," Amber smiled. She leaned up to kiss his jawline, "You're cute when you worry."

Grace gagged inwardly. Her mother and father had never been this disgusting. Even Rachel and Stan had stopped kissing in front of her. It was just Amber who dared to be so gross. Danny instinctively moved to pat her head as he passed but she stepped aside to stop him. He frowned again, but left without a word. 

Grace moved to the window to watch him go. The car drove so much slower when it wasn't Steve behind the wheel. The results were the same. Grace had been left behind.

Again.

She turned on her heels and dropped her bag to reluctantly climb up onto a stool to sit at the table. Of all the furnished apartments Danny had moved into, this was easily the worst, but at least it wasn't another sleazy hotel. Part of her wondered why he hadn’t moved into Steve's place fulltime. At least his house was liveable. 

Amber smiled at her as she twiddled the spoon in her hand.

"Aloha, monkey," she smiled.

Grace scowled. "Only my dad calls me monkey."

She bowed her head. "Sorry. Sorry for screaming too, I wasn't... I didn’t expect..."

"You shouldn't expect me. I don't expect you. I'm sure it won't happen again," Grace shrugged. 

"Right..." Amber cleared her throat awkwardly. 

Grace's tone was dark and her voice was tight. It didn't take a genius to know that she wasn’t happy. It made the nerves in Amber's stomach twitch. After everything she'd been through, tones like this made her heart thump harder.

Not that this cute little girl had any idea of that.

She lifted the box of cereal into the air, "Have you had breakfast?"

Grace nodded. "Mom made sure I was fed while she phoned dad. He didn't pick up though."

She rarely called Danny Dad. Very rarely. But she wanted Amber to know that he was tied to her. That no matter what she did, and how much she thought Danny loved her, he would always pick Grace first.

 _Always._

Gabby, at least, had known that.

She missed Gabby. 

She didn’t want to grow attached to this one only to have her disappear too.

The silence had lingered for too long to not feel awkward now. Amber shifted in her seat. She wasn't very experienced at dealing with children and she didn't really know what to do.

"You ready for school?" Amber asked.

"Yes," Grace stated.

At this sudden opportunity Grace leapt to her feet. She was ready to get the hell out of this place and away from Amber as soon as possible. In her eagerness to escape she completely forgot what her mother had told her when she got out of the car. "Don't forget that you don't have lunch baby. Make sure Danno packs you some." That clean slipped her mind as she grabbed her rucksack again. 

"Take your time, I'll give you a ride," Amber assured.

Grace did her best to internalise the initial instinct to groan. It was driven into her to be polite at all times, even if she didn't like the person she was talking to. She definitely didn't. But while she kept her back to Amber, she rolled her eyes.

"No thanks. Dad would prefer I take the bus so I don’t forget I'm privileged to have a car," she said.

Amber hummed uncertainly. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing she could imagine Danny saying. After all, Grace was his reason for living. He wouldn't want her put at risk by walking to the bus stop all alone, let alone to school. Beside, this was the perfect opportunity to win her over.

You only get one change at a first time impression. 

"I'm not so sure-" Amber began.

"I am," Grace stated.

"Okay. Alright, well why don’t I walk you to the bus stop?" Amber offered.

She stood up as she did, and Grace glanced down at her exposed legs again. Looming down from her fathers shirt...

"You're not dressed," she said.

Amber shifted awkwardly and gave a sheepish laugh. "I'll go get dressed. I'll be right back."

Grace forced a smile and nodded. She waited, just like Uncle Chin had taught her. Once they’re out of the room, count to three. The lack of action gives them a false sense of security and that way you know you have time. The moment Grace hit three in her head she took the moves Kono had taught her about stealth, and crept quickly and quietly to the nearest door. She laid her hand against the hinge as she opened it just far enough to slip through, to make sure the hinge wouldn’t creak. 

Then, once she was out of the door, she listened to the natural instinct in her stomach, and ran like fury.

"Grace?" Amber called at the sound of footsteps running down the steps. 

She wiggled faster to pull her jeans over her hips and dashed for the door as she zipped her fly, but it was too late. The house was empty. When she stepped out of the door to see where Grace had gone, she was greeted by an empty yard. Amber sighed and softly swore to herself. 

Now she was just going to have to hope Grace made it to school without incident. 

If she didn't, Danny would be pissed.

Grace kicked a pebble along the path as she sulked down the sidewalk. It wasn't fair. Danny was the reason she wasn't allowed to go to Vegas with Rachel - not that she wanted to - and yet he didn't even answer the phone anymore. Not since he'd found someone to make it worth ignoring. Which meant now she had to share even more of his limited time. 

_Charlie_ got to go to Vegas though.

Special little Charlie always got to go to Vegas. Charlie didn't have to go to school either, he spent his whole day at home with Rachel. So when Grace got home, Rachel was too tired to spend any real time with her. She already had to share her mother with her brother and Stan, now she had to share her father with his work and _Amber._

And what would happened when Amber left too?

Would she have to hang around the airport with Danny, waiting for someone who wasn't going to turn up? To watch him pretend he wasn’t miserable inside because she wasn't around?

How was that fair?

To think, she could have been halfway to Vegas by now, watching the clouds fly past the window and eating crappy airline food or- 

_Crap._ She hadn't picked up lunch. Now she was going to have to scrounge up some money or go hungry. 

Today just kept getting better.

Grace tried to kick the pebble but it slipped under her shoe. She turned back to look for it, exposing her identity to oncoming traffic. 

The honking of a car horn behind her pulled her from her thoughts. Instantly her Aunt's voice loomed into her head. The best way to escape danger is to act like a cat that just had water dumped over it.

The car was a big blue truck that pulled to a stop by the curb. It was taller than she was. Her hand automatically found her keys in her pocket as she stumbled backwards, away from the road. She latched onto her rucksack and prepared herself to run in the opposite direction, just as trained. 

The truck window came to a stop directly in front of her.

Imagine her relief when she saw Steve grinning in the drivers seat.

"Hey monkey!" He beamed. 

"Morning Uncle Steve," she sighed, half in relief, half in annoyance.

If Steve caught onto the idea that she wasn't happy, he'd cling to that idea like static. Then Danny would find out. Then they'd have to have another serious sit down and discussion because Danny knows she's upset and he's not angry, but he wants to _understand._

She just couldn't go through another one.

"You're cutting it fine for the bus aren’t you?" Steve said.

"I was trying to decide if I should go back for my lunch and risk being late," Grace shrugged.

His face fell, concerned, "You don't have lunch?"

Grace cursed. Now the next question he asked was going to be why and she would have to explain that her mother didn’t have any food because she was taking a trip to see Stan in Vegas, and Grace was supposed to get lunch from Danny, but forgot to ask because of the half naked stranger in the kitchen.

 _That_ was going to get back to Danny.

The longer he lingered there the higher the risk that he'd figure out the truth. She just wanted him gone. In her frustration, she snapped at him.

"Don't you have a crime scene to get to?!" She huffed.

Steve frowned. This was not the girl he knew. Not this frustrated and annoyed. This was Danny. Danny was sharp and annoyed and snappy. Grace was all sweetness and smiles. Something was bothering her.

He eyed her cautiously. She wouldn’t look at him. She looked like she wanted to run still. Like she wanted to just be alone. Clearly she was sulking, and there had to be a reason. 

Steve put on a smile and pressed on carefully. 

"Yes, yes I do, but I'll tell you a secret. I’m the boss. The only one who will tell me off for being late is Danny, and I'm used to that," he winked. 

"Right," she sighed impatiently. "Look, Uncle Steve, I'm gonna be late-"

"C'mon then. Jump in," Steve nodded towards the empty passenger seat.

"That's not what I-"

She stepped back cautiously, which caught the attention of a woman passing by. She paused, and turned to watch this child edge away from a strange truck. This child clearly didn’t want to be anywhere near this truck. 

Alarm bells rang, and she stepped closer. 

"Is this man bothering you?" The woman asked.

"Oh, um -" Grace began.

The woman stepped between Grace and Steve's open window, instinctively pushing Grace behind her to shield her from this strange man. She pointed at him, furiously, her tone filled with disgust.

"Shame on you sir, she's a child! She's in her school uniform!"

Steve blinked in alarm as he realised what he was being accused of and instantly felt his ears burn.

"Oh, oh no, no, that’s not what this is, I'm her uncle!" He insisted. 

She folded her arms, clearly not believing him. "Is that right?" 

"I am!" He insisted, his heart beating hard, "And I'm Five-O!"

"Using a badge as protection is disgusting!" She spat.

Grace tugged the woman's sleeve and said, "No, he really is. He's my uncle too."

The woman glanced between Grace and Steve. Steve gave her a sheepish smile. His cheeks were flushed and his chest ached with embarrassment. The woman looked sheepish too.

"Oh. Are you okay then?" She asked Grace.

Grace nodded. "Yes, yeah, I am, thank you though."

"Yeah, great job, thanks. I feel really safe now," Steve insisted, earnestly. 

She hummed and patted Grace's shoulder as she backed away. She paused at the tail of the truck to photograph his licence plate, just in case. As she walked away, Steve dropped his head against the steering wheel and felt himself die a little inside. 

Grace took slightly longer to twig what had been implied, and she gasped when she did. Then she bit her lip. It was hard to stop herself from giggling at the way Steve buried his head against the steering wheel. Especially when he accidentally honked the horn and spooked himself. Grace hid her grin behind her fingers as he rolled his head to look at her.

"Please get in the car."

It was a quiet, defeated plea. Almost a whisper. Grace felt bad for him. She reached out to take the door handle, and climbed into the front seat behind him. He opened his mouth to remind her to buckle in, but she did so before he could. Instead she raised her eyes to meet his for a moment, as his mind whirled. As embarrassing as that had been, he was definitely pleased that someone had stepped in to help protect her. It made him feel a little better about the world to know people like that were still around. 

It was still embarrassing though. 

All he could think to say was another desperate plea of, "Please don't tell your father about that."

"I won't if you don't," Grace said.

If she told Danny this story he would ask why she wasn't with Amber. If Steve told Danny he picked up Grace, she'd tell him what had been assumed of him. This way they were both in it together and Danny would find out nothing. Steve nodded. It was a fair deal.

He pulled away from the kerb and they drove off. His GPS kept correcting itself as it told him to go to the palace, and he ignored it.

"So. What are you going to do about lunch?" He asked. 

Grace sighed. "I don't know."

"Take a look in there, see if I've got any snacks you can take," Steve said.

He knocked on the dash above her knees and tugged the handle to let the glove compartment fall open. Steve had been trained to think of emergencies, so he had long term rations tucked away all over the place in case he ever needed them. He also had a go bag hidden beneath his office desk for the same reason. Just in case was always his reason for everything. 

As Grace clawed through the empty packets that Steve had stuffed in there, she couldn't help wondering if he knew what a bin was. Most people didn’t have one in their car.

"These are just candy wrappers and empty-" Grace paused.

She had moved aside the old deli wraps to find a dozen or so receipts from Kamekona's trucks. She suddenly felt a familiar and unwelcome wave of concern for his health. She eyed Steve. Danny complained about his tastes and how healthy he was and how he wouldn't be welcome in New Jersey. If that was true he clearly hid this from his partner. Last time she felt like this, she had managed to convince Danny to give up burgers and make himself a salad at least once a week instead. 

"Uncle Steve didn't anyone ever tell you that too many saturated fats makes your cholesterol high?" Grace asked, concerned. 

"Uh, I had uh..." Steve's knuckles rolled around the steering wheel uncomfortably, "I have heard that."

He knew that because Danny had nagged at him for it on one of the many days that Danny was swapping take outs for salad and Steve was not.

"And too much sugar makes your blood pressure high," Grace continued. 

Steve nodded, "Yeah, I heard that too."

"High blood pressure and high cholesterol can do your heart some serious damage."

"Yeah, uh, y-yeah they do, but..."

Steve glanced over at her as she stared at him, wide eyed and waiting for an answer. He cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly. The excuses he gave Danny weren't going to work here, and if he wasn’t careful, he might accidentally arm her with an excuse against Danny to stop eating her greens. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Well I've been in the navy. And army rations are very healthy. They are very healthy, and I try to keep up with that, but uh... see they don't taste great? So I'm just trying to enjoy the taste of things every once in a while."

Steve shrugged as he finished, and felt pretty good about his answer. Grace looked back at the glove compartment full of wrappers that called Steve a liar. She chose not to comment on this.

"There’s lots of healthy things that can taste good too uncle Steve," Grace urged.

Steve chuckled to himself. "You really remind me of your dad sometimes y’know that?"

"I've heard," she muttered. She tried hard not to feel disappointed by it. Then they drove past a billboard and she spotted something on it that back up her argument. "Pineapple's good for you! Danno says you like pineapple, that tastes good!"

"On the other hand," Steve muttered and chuckled to himself. 

He glanced at her again and glanced at the clock on the dash. There was plenty of time to get her to school but by the time he had dropped her off and gone to meet Danny he'd be cutting it fine. If he detoured now he would definitely be late.

But a kid's gotta eat.

"Y’know what's worse than eating unhealthy?"

"What?"

"Not eating at all. And you don’t have lunch, so let's find you something to eat."

"I don’t want to make you late."

"Then we won't even stop."

Steve grinned at her as he said it, so she smiled back, but the puzzled look on her face spoke volumes. She had no idea what he was suggesting. Not until the very moment he pulled up to the drive through and flashed her a dazzling grin.

"Get anything you like, but it had to last until lunch," he declared.

Grace blinked at him. Take away for dinner was one thing, but breakfast and lunch was a whole other. She stared up at the menu, bewildered. But he was right. Take away was better than hunger.

"Like what?" She asked.

Steve shrugged "Maybe something dry. Like pancakes. They've got blueberry, that's your favourite right?"

"Right," Grace said, slowly. 

Grace knew how much Steve adored pancakes, but she had no idea he had memorized her favourites. It wasn’t like he had any reason to. But he prepared for everything. Even having to stop on his way to work and get her breakfast.

Or maybe one day to make her breakfast. Because he was always prepared to look after her. He even kept pop tarts in the middle shelf of his cupboard just in case she came over.

When she was little and he had followed Danny shopping - why this had happened she was still uncertain, but Steve made shopping feel like a treasure hunt so she didn't complain - he had lifted her onto his shoulders to help her reach the top shelf pop tarts."The higher they are, the better the quality," he had said.

Grace smiled to herself at the memory. Steve leaned out of the window to order.

"Hey, can we get two loads of blueberry pancakes, a bottle of orange juice, uh, what else goes into a pack lunch? You’ve got carbs, fruit, a drink, what else do you need?"

"We have fruit bags sir," the employee suggested. 

Steve grinned, “have you got any pineapple?”

Grace snorted at the request. It was so easy for Steve to make her feel better. It came naturally to him. And she loved him for it.

“Yes, we have chunks and sticks,” came the reply.

Steve pulled a face at her, silently extending the question to her. She shrugged. “Chunks I guess.”

“Perfect, chunky bag please!" Steve declared.

"And a double choc chip cookie please!" Grace called, beaming.

Steve turned his head and raised an eyebrow, but his eyes were shining, "That’s high in sugar y’know."

"But it tastes good," she countered.

He grinned proudly, "Now you're getting it."

Steve balanced his pancakes on his lap as Grace tucked her new lunch safely into her rucksack. She would find out later that the employee they ordered from had even written her a note on a napkin. "Good luck at school, if you get stuck in math the answer's usually five." She would smile through most of the school day, blissfully unaware of what her father was up to.

Right now though, she was just climbing out of his truck.

He leaned over to call out the window, "Have a good day Gracie."

Grace turned back to face him as she waved back. "Thanks da- Uncle Steve. Love you."

"Love you too!"

Steve chuckled as he drove off, and picked a blueberry out of his pancakes. He was almost late, and Danny was going to be furious. Although when he got there, Danny barely even noticed he was late. His mind was on other things, and Steve suddenly understood why Grace had been walking to the bus alone. Danny didn't get to be annoyed for long though, because they had an appointment with JC Dekker.

...

To see Danny rise from the dust at the depth of the rubble that had once been a building, had Grace bouncing on her heels. The only reason she didn't race over to throw herself at him instantly was because Kono hadn't given her the all clear. She was waiting, eagerly, for someone to tell her it was safe, just like Danny always told her to. 

"There's someone here who wants to see you," Kono smiled as Chin helped him stagger towards the paramedics. 

She stepped aside to let Grace through and that was all the permission she needed. 

"Danno!" Grace cried.

She moved to hug him, and hesitated when she spotted the bloodstains across his shirt. Danny wrapped his opposite arm around her, so she would avoid the wound.

"I'm okay Monkey," he muttered to reassure her.

He pressed a kiss into her hairline, leaving a layer of dust behind it. This time she didn’t pull away. Then Danny shifted past her when Amber appeared, and Grace felt another spark of jealousy. She huffed as Amber kissed him again. 

Steve climbed out of the rubble after Danny, and coughed the dust out of his lungs as he finally found fresh air. He was aching all over, and he felt like death. Grace frowned at her father, but then she spotted Steve hugging Catherine. Her face lit up. She raced across the ground to tackle his legs.

Steve was taken aback for a moment, but as soon as he registered who was on him, he let go of Catherine and stooped to Grace's level. He threw his arms around her instead. 

Grace clung to Steve, burying her head into his shoulder despite the layer of grime that made it hard to breath. She didn’t care. He was still here. He was always there. 

He would never just disappear.

Steve chuckled as he leaned back. He held her arm in one hand to keep himself balanced, and reached up to tuck a stray hair out of her eyes with the other. His thumb left a trail of brick dust on her cheek. She stared at him with innocent admiration and utter relief that he was alive. But he had nearly missed this moment. If they had been down there just a few minutes longer, she would have lost him and her father too.

Steve couldn't bare the idea of leaving her behind. It made his heart hurt more than his oxygen-deprived lungs.

"Okay. You win," he declared, firmly, "I'm cutting down on the saturated fats and sugar starting now!"

Grace laughed. It was a happy, breezy laugh. The kind of sound that rang out across the scene of destruction and warmed the heart of all their rescuers. None more so than Steve. 

Grace wrapped her arms around his neck again to hug him tight and muttered, "I'm glad you’re safe dad."

Steve's eyes widened. He decided that his ears must still have been damaged by the explosion. She couldn't have said that. He couldn’t have heard right. He hugged her tighter anyway.


End file.
